The present invention relates to automotive protective attachments, and more specifically to a bumper guard attachable at a license-plate mounting area via license-plate mounting fasteners to a vehicle's bumper or body for absorbing low-speed impacts and preventing damage to the bumper and/or body surface.
According to the applicant's knowledge, the current state of the art includes bumper guards which extend in front of and surround the license-plate, but are mounted underneath the bumper, to the bumper support or otherwise to the vehicle undercarriage. Such undercarriage type mountings usually requires drilling holes in the support structure for mounting what is usually a heavy grade steel guard. One such device is illustrated in U.S. Des. Pat. No. 275,475 issued to Turkleson. Other existing bumper guards are custom designed to the shape of a particular vehicle's bumper or body panel. These require substantial work and/or expense to attach or are limited in application. Accordingly, there is a need for a cost effective bumper guard easily attachable to most vehicles despite the varying bumper and body shapes associated with different makes and models.
External metal bumpers are typically not used on modern vehicles. Most bumpers are now made, in whole or in part, of rubber or plastic composites that crack, puncture or scratch upon impact (sometimes at even low force impacts) and which cover an interiorly located metal structure. Also, today's bumpers are often painted with high gloss paints which make unpleasant scuffs and dings more noticeable. Repairing or replacing a bumper because of structural and/or cosmetic damage resulting from impacts can carry substantial costs. Therefore, there is a desire to use a bumper guard to avoid the scrapes, nicks, cracks and dings associated with an impact to a bumper or the vehicle body. However, currently existing bumper guards require custom bumper guards shaped to accommodate the curve of a particular vehicle's bumper design and/or require modification (i.e., drilling holes) to the bumper or bumper support in order to mount existing bumper guards or require undercarriage mounting.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bumper guard applicable to a wide variety of bumper and body shapes without having to modify the bumper or bumper support. Most, if not all, vehicles in the United States are fabricated with a front and rear bumper or body portion having a substantially flat license-plate mounting area or fixture typically located at the center thereof, although some vehicles may have the mounting area to one side. These mounting areas provide for at least one fastening device, usually two or more, for mounting a license-plate to the vehicle. Typically, the mounting area or fixture comprises a preexisting, standard arrangement of fastener recesses, nuts, or clips for receiving a fastening device, such as a bolt, screw, snap, or stud, etc., to mount the license-plate. The mounting fixture could also comprise studs, screws, or bolts extending from the mounting area for insertion into a mounting recess in the license-plate, to which a nut is attached to fasten the license plate. According to the invention, the bumper guard mounts to the license-plate mounting fixture diminishing the need for any special bumper guard mounting device. Thus, one may obtain the benefits of a bumper guard without having to modify the bumper or bumper support by attaching it to preexisting fastening fixture.
The fastening device used to mount the bumper guard to the vehicle may be, and preferably is, the same fastening device used to mount the license-plate to the bumper guard; for example, bolts extend through recesses in the license-plate and aligned recesses in the bumper guard to be received in recesses in the vehicle license plate fixture for mounting both the license-plate and the bumper guard to the vehicle. Alternatively, bolts or studs extend from the mounting area or fixture and the license plate and bumper-guard are fastened to the bolts or studs with suitable nuts. In the alternative the license-plate can be separately mounted to the bumper guard and the bumper-guard separately mounted to the vehicle; for example, first screws extend through recesses in the bumper guard to be received in the license plate mounting fixture recesses for mounting the bumper guard to the vehicle while second fastening devices, such as screws or clips, extend through the license-plate recesses and attach to the bumper guard for mounting the license-plate to the bumper guard. One beneficial application associated with the use of separate fasteners is, for example, a car dealer can exchange dealer plates between various cars without having to remove the license-plate from the bumper guard by simply attaching and detaching the bumper guard with the license-plate remaining connected thereto.
Furthermore, a bumper guard having a mounting plate similarly sized to the dimensions of a license-plate and having recesses configured to align with the preexisting fasteners, e.g., screw receiving recesses or studs, located at the license-plate mounting or fixture area would be capable of easily mounting to many types of bumpers or vehicle body work despite the shape of the surrounding bumper or body portion. Accordingly, this allows one to avoid ordering a custom bumper guard particularly designed to accommodate a certain vehicle's bumper or body shape, and allows generic use of a bumper guard with varying bumper and body designs.
Even further, should the bumper guard itself become scratched, nicked or bent it is easily removable by removing it from the preexisting vehicle fixture and placing another guard in its place. Placing a removable or non-removable cover such as foam and/or rubber over a portion of the bumper guard creates a soft exterior so that scratches and other such damage to another vehicle are not easily caused by contacting the guard. Also, such a cover creates a repairable/replaceable surface for maintaining a clean appearance.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a bumper guard mountable to a vehicle via a preexisting license-plate mounting fixture, such as preexisting screw or bolt recesses.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a bumper guard mountable to the preexisting license-plate mounting fixture that is capable of accommodating a license-plate without obstructing the visibility thereof.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a bumper guard having a mounting plate shaped to be substantially concealed by a license-plate.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a bumper guard mountable to the bumper's preexisting fixtures, e.g., recesses, having an integrated shock absorption system for absorbing an initial impact.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a removable or non-removable cover such as foam and/or rubber over a portion of the bumper guard of the present invention to maintain a soft exterior, protect its surface from scratches and maintain a neat appearance with a repairable/replaceable surface.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a bumper guard having vertically extending bumper guard arms mountable to the vehicle's preexisting mounting area fastening fixtures, e.g., recesses or studs, for contacting a second bumper having a different height.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings.